WACO, Texas — The Waco ISD school board is set to consider the proposed District and Campus Improvement Plan, which contains a proposal that would impact the future of Brazos Credit Recovery High School.
Brazos High School is an alternative school that helps students gain enough credits for graduation and prevent dropouts. However, it hasn't met state or federal standards and could face closure.
A former student shared her success story with 6 News, saying Brazos High School changes lives for the better.
"It was a 10 out of 10," said Brazos graduate Sharhon Rivers.
Rivers says her graduation day in 2022 was one of the best days of her life.
"I think about it to this day. 'What would have happened if I didn't go to Brazos? Where would I be?'" Rivers said.
Rivers says as a teen mom, Brazos teachers gave her hope, and still serve as a support system after graduation.
"This is what I mean by these teachers have a big impact on our lives because I was going through something one day and I was crying, and my teacher was like 'What's going on?'" said Rivers. "She said 'Girl, you better snap out of it. You have your child and other things to be focused on. If you spend all your time focusing on one thing you can't do the next. You have to be okay with moving on.' To this day it sticks to me. I never let anything take me down....that was a big impact on my life'"
Graduation rates have jumped from 14.5% in the 2017 school year to a projected 58% this school year according to WISD, but it is not enough to meet state or federal requirements.
This means the school could face closure or intervention by the state.
"We don't have the official guidance from the state on the turnaround plan, but we know it's coming," said Waco ISD Superintendent Dr. Susan Kincannon.
The District Improvement Plan would create a blueprint to transition services at Brazos High School to the district's comprehensive campuses, Waco High School and University High School, which, according to Kincannon, are already offering many resources for credit recovery and dropout prevention.
According to the district, jobs would not be cut and the building and property would not be sold if the board eventually decides to close the campus. Kincannon says focus group meetings and community input will continue but she won't make a recommendation to the board on the future of Brazos High School until the spring.
"We've just begun the conversation and we've had two focus group meetings," said Kincannon. "Most of the members at this point are staff members. Obviously, change is hard and we have staff that have invested heavily in this program and believe wholeheartedly in what they're doing and they want to take care of kids. What we're trying to do is pull back and look at all the services that we provide for dropout prevention and see if maybe we can do an even better job now that we have this opportunity and essentially are being forced to take another look at it."
Education Advocate Hope Balfa says the statistics don't tell the story.
"If the district understood the critical importance of the Brazos campus, which has been dubbed the "ICU of Waco ISD" for a reason, that would have been a priority set in place. We knew this was coming. The district knew this was coming. Why wasn't something done about it before it ended up in this place?" said Balfa.
Balfa encouraged parents and students to become part of the conversation and lend their voice to other options that wouldn't include the eventual closure of Brazos High School.
Balfa does not want to see the campus close.
"Brazos is life-changing for the kids that go there and want to be there and pour their heart and soul into it because it's reciprocated," said Balfa. "The teachers, the environment, it's restorative, it's healing and you can even hear that from stories from the students and their families."
Rivers says the impact made at Brazos High School will last her a lifetime.
"I'm so thankful for them, and it breaks my heart that they're trying to do that because they're not giving people a chance," said Rivers.
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